Top 5 How To’s On Hiring The Unemployable

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Top 5 How To’s On Hiring The Unemployable

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Table of Contents

Dan Diamond wrote an article this past August, “Why the Real Unemployment Rate Is Higher Than You Think.”  This article discussed what is called the U-6 rate, which includes the individuals that settled for part-time work or quit looking for full-time employment altogether.  This national unemployment rate averages out at 14.3%.  The statistics show that the longer you are without a job – surpassing the eighth month mark – the callback rate falls by 45 percent.  Those are very disheartening statistics for individuals who fall within those dark lines.  If you read the first article I wrote on the unemployable, “The Reason To Hire The Unemployable”, you read that I was out of the workforce for 6 years raising my son!  The first 2 months of actively job hunting again after being out of work for so long consisted of several conversations with recruiters attempting to place me in lower level positions. They were really asking me to start over again in the profession that I had twelve years of solid working experience.  This lit a fire inside of me that burned night and day over the next several months to secure a position that I felt aligned with my abilities and the career path I wished to be on over the next several years.

How To Hire The Unemployable

To understand the unemployable candidates that are coming to your doorsteps, you must really get to know them in order to assess whether they are capable of performing or not.  There are ways to open a window to peek into the candidates abilities even if they have nothing to show over the past couple years on their resumes.  How did the CEO open the window to view my performance potential?  He met me at a coffee shop for a face-to-face meeting.  He had a goal of having an informal conversation to discover my performance potentials over the next couple years.  In under an hour, he had found the answers to his questions and made me an offer.

This unemployable candidate was extremely grateful for the seat at the table.  The gratefulness has been showered heavily within my roles at companies over the past several years.   In order to prove this is an area of focus you really need to consider in 2015, take a look at my personal experience of reentry into the workforce with these  Show Me The Money statistics.  The recruiting dollars saved for the companies accumulates to a total of 585,600 and the dollars earned by clients obtained is a total of 2.5 million in the past three years of employment.   What started out as a business owner taking a chance on the unemployable, turned into a highly skilled working professional with a high ROI within a short period of time.

You ask yourself, “How do I hire the unemployable” and “What do I look for when opening the window?”

Focus on The Top 5 Characteristics’ of The Unemployable Performance Potentials

Determination

One of the things that will stand out with most candidates that are performance potentials is a willful spirit determined to achieve greatness.  The candidate should have some traction at previous companies that showed upward movement during their tenure at each one.  You will want to focus on questions that discover achievements, awards, and anything that made them stand out and move forward while at each company.  There should also be some activities while unemployed that show a willfulness to achieve new knowledge or skillsets.

Humbleness

A grateful heart will explore every avenue in order to perform at 150% for their employer.  They will work long hours in order to perform well and make their employer look good while doing it.  The humble voice of these individuals is very easy to hear while speaking with them.  You will need to really listen to the words selected during the conversations.  This voice seeks to build things with everyone involved.  The power of their presence generates engagement of the whole, which in turn increases the bottom line at every organization they are a part of daily.

Innovation

This new economy requires employees who are able to think outside the box and come up with new ideas and methods of doing business daily.  You want to ask the right questions that show a history of coming up with innovative solutions to a problem.  This individual usually has an entrepreneurial spirit.  If you ask questions related to personal passions and interests, the candidate that is innovative will share some hobby they have been working on during their spare time.  For instance, they might have designed an application that tracks online ticket sales or created an email marketing campaign for their families’ restaurant.

Leadership

What have they done for themselves lately?  You will want to see personal development year after year.  If the candidate has been out of work, they should still show an interest in developing their skills.  This skill development can be in volunteer work, obtaining certifications, or completing a degree.  You will also want to see volunteer work that shows they have been passing on their professional knowledge to other individuals while out of work.

Tenaciousness

One of the most defining characteristics of someone who will consistently perform with every challenge thrown their way is a tenacious spirit.  You are able to find these individuals by focusing on questions related to “staying power.”  Whether it is conversations based on volunteer work they have done while unemployed or a theme within their previous jobs while working, you should be asking questions to discover if this candidate is able to push through hard times or if they fold like a card table.

Discovering The Performance Potential Of The Unemployable

I want to leave you with some of my favorite inspiring quotes from individuals over the years that understand the human potential.  Please consider these words as a call to action in starting a powerful movement to place candidates back in seats beginning in 2015.

“Several of us were hit really hard during the economic depression over the past 7 years.  We have reorganized our lifestyles in order to push forward in this new economy.  We are highly skilled individuals who simply want the opportunities afforded to other candidates.   We have so much to offer and will eagerly await your call.  Please consider us, we are the daises at your feet.  We only ask that you stop reaching for the stars and pick us as a candidate.  We will not let you down and will be very grateful for a seat at your table.” –  The voice of the unemployable

“Setting an example is not the main means of influencing others; it is the only means.”

“The fishing is best where the fewest go, and the collective insecurity of the world makes it easy for people to hit home runs while everyone else is aiming for base hits. There is just less competition for bigger goals. If you are insecure, guess what? The rest of the world is, too. Do not overestimate the competition and underestimate yourself. You are better than you think.”

“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be?  Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do”

“There are no limits. There are only plateaus, and you must not stay there, you must go beyond them.”

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3 Comments

  1. Amazing article – I am in the recruitment industry since 10 years now I can relate to each and every single point
    But, I have came across a site names huntable – It is a n excellent tool for recruiters, you can check everything at a single place

  2. I think this is a brilliant article, and one to which I can really relate.

    Several recruitment agents had told me that despite my wide range of experience and abilities, because I had left the corporate environment and been a full-time carer for a few years it was almost impossible for me to be put forward to their clients for interview. Not quite unemployable, but very close!

    I sent this article to a hiring manager who had rejected my application and re-advertised a role that was well within my capacity. It earned me a call to interview and subsequently a job offer!

    Thank you Monica!

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